Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-49955
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/rtas: Fix RTAS MSR[HV] handling for Cell The semi-recent changes to MSR handling when entering RTAS (firmware) cause crashes on IBM Cell machines. An example trace: kernel tried to execute user page (2fff01a8) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Unable to handle kernel instruction fetch Faulting instruction address: 0x2fff01a8 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] BE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Hash SMP NR_CPUS=4 NUMA Cell Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Tainted: G W 6.0.0-rc2-00433-gede0a8d3307a #207 NIP: 000000002fff01a8 LR: 0000000000032608 CTR: 0000000000000000 REGS: c0000000015236b0 TRAP: 0400 Tainted: G W (6.0.0-rc2-00433-gede0a8d3307a) MSR: 0000000008001002 <ME,RI> CR: 00000000 XER: 20000000 ... NIP 0x2fff01a8 LR 0x32608 Call Trace: 0xc00000000143c5f8 (unreliable) .rtas_call+0x224/0x320 .rtas_get_boot_time+0x70/0x150 .read_persistent_clock64+0x114/0x140 .read_persistent_wall_and_boot_offset+0x24/0x80 .timekeeping_init+0x40/0x29c .start_kernel+0x674/0x8f0 start_here_common+0x1c/0x50 Unlike PAPR platforms where RTAS is only used in guests, on the IBM Cell machines Linux runs with MSR[HV] set but also uses RTAS, provided by SLOF. Fix it by copying the MSR[HV] bit from the MSR value we've just read using mfmsr into the value used for RTAS. It seems like we could also fix it using an #ifdef CELL to set MSR[HV], but that doesn't work because it's possible to build a single kernel image that runs on both Cell native and pseries.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysisThe code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.
General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 5.15.46, < 5.16>= 5.17.14, < 5.18>= 5.18.3, < 5.19.8= 6.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped5.165.185.19.8
Upgrade to kernel 5.16.0+ (for 5.15.x branch), 5.18.0+ (for 5.17.x branch), or 5.19.8+ (for 5.18.x/6.0 branches). For long-term stability, consider upgrading to the latest stable branch such as 6.6.x or 6.12.x
- Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
- Determine which major kernel branch your version belongs to (5.15.x, 5.17.x, 5.18.x, or 6.0)
- For kernels in the 5.15.x series (>=5.15.46): Upgrade to kernel version 5.16.0 or later
- For kernels in the 5.17.x series (>=5.17.14): Upgrade to kernel version 5.18.0 or later
- For kernels in the 5.18.x series (>=5.18.3): Upgrade to kernel version 5.19.8 or later
- For kernel version 6.0: Upgrade to kernel version 5.19.8 or later, or to 6.1+
- Reboot the system after applying the kernel update
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the system runs without the RTAS-related crash
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-49955 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-49955 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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